Tel Aviv [Israel], November 7 : Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has declared that Israel will retain "complete freedom of action to respond to any situation in the Gaza Strip" once the ongoing war ends, CNN reported on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Gallant emphasised "at the end of this 'campaign,' Hamas, as a military organisation or governing body in Gaza, will cease to exist," CNN reported citing Ynet news website.
"There will be no security threat to Israel from Gaza, and Israel will retain complete freedom of action, to respond to any situation in the Gaza Strip that poses any kind of threat," Gallant can be heard saying on the Ynet recording.
These statements align with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent remarks that Israel would have overall security responsibility in Gaza for an indefinite period following the war. However, the Israeli government has not provided detailed plans for governing Gaza should Hamas be eliminated.
The situation in Gaza post-war remains uncertain, with concerns about how Israel plans to manage it. The latest violence has caused more than 1,400 deaths in Israel and at least 10,022 in Gaza as of November 6, according to authorities on both sides.
Israel will have "security responsibility" over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period following its war against Hamas, Netanyahu announced in an interview aired Monday night, The Times of Israel reported.
"I think Israel will for an indefinite period have security responsibility," Netanyahu told ABC News. "We've seen what happens when we don't have that... security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn't imagine."
The war with Hamas began after approximately 3,000 terrorists breached the Gaza border on October 7, resulting in the deaths of around 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and the abduction of over 240 individuals, including at least 30 children, according to CNN.
Gallant also underscored that the top priority of the war was to eliminate Hamas, and he was personally focused on achieving victory and securing the return of Israeli hostages.
In response to the conflict, US President Joe Biden cautioned Israel against reoccupying Gaza. Biden emphasised the need for the Palestinian Authority and a path to a Palestinian state, acknowledging that not all Palestinian people are represented by Hamas and its extreme elements.
In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired October 15, Biden said it would be a "big mistake" for Israel to occupy Gaza.
"What happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don't represent all the Palestinian people," Biden told interviewer Scott Pelley.
Biden also said that he believes Hamas should be eliminated entirely, "but there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state," CNN reported.
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